STRATHMORE v GREENVALE
Saturday 2:15pm at Lebanon Reserve
THIS is just about as close to a virtual final as we can get for a home-and-away game.
A win or draw for the Mores guarantees them a second consecutive finals berth and will eliminate Greenvale from contention.
A Jets win would sink Strathmore to fifth spot entering next week’s final round.
Both sides’ best footy can be scintillating but their respective lack of consistency has let them down at times this season.
Against lower ranked sides, the Jets’ ability to produce consistent scoreboard pressure ranks among the best this division has to offer.
But as demonstrated on EDFL Match of the Day last week against Keilor, when facing better opponents they look like a different unit.
Jacob Thompson was a late arrival to Section Road last week and his absence left a huge void in Greenvale’s forward structure.
The midfield struggled as well despite another good performance from Fabian Deluca in ruck.
His opponent here will be emerging star, Andrew Vavra, who’s been one of Strathmore’s best players this season.
The Mores’ midfield has been far more productive of late, led by the ever-green Adam Iacobucci and their captain, Andrew Horne.
Strathmore has quietly gone about its business since a surprise Round 12 loss to Glenroy and won its last four games in pretty convincing fashion.
They usually play Lebanon Reserve well and given they’ll likely have a better complement of their best 22 on the park, the odds should be in the Mores’ favour here.
PASCOE VALE v ABERFELDIE
Saturday 2:15pm at Raeburn Reserve
Pascoe Vale is an enigma and from quarter to quarter, you never quite know what you’re going to get.
As the away team against an increasingly desperate Avondale Heights outfit, the Panthers showed some class late to earn a hard-fought five-point win last week.
Cynics would argue it was yet another sign Pascoe Vale isn’t ready to take the next big leap into premiership contention.
But the fairer perspective should be that good, premiership calibre sides find ways to win those sorts of games when they’re under pressure.
Josh Cauchi and Jacob Polizzi keep proving their worth as smaller forwards that can carry more of the load when the likes of Matthew Watson and Daniel Archer are well-held.
Such a dynamic forward structure eases the load for Pascoe Vale’s midfielders, who know they have multiple targets inside 50 and don’t have to carry too much of the scoring load themselves.
The weakness that Aberfeldie will want to expose here is the Panthers’ back line.
Star defender, Luke Foster has been overseas since Round 13 and will prove a very handy inclusion when he does return.
But with or without Foster on the park, Aberfeldie’s ability to spread its goal kicking load is second to none.
Defender-turned-forward Daniel Thompson has kicked goals in every game since the start of August, while Jayden Foster and James Peters are enjoying some good form of late as well.
If Kristian Economou and his fellow Pascoe Vale defenders can’t lock down on Aberfeldie’s attack, then the Panthers are little chance of victory.
AVONDALE HEIGHTS v AIRPORT WEST
Saturday 2:15pm at Canning Reserve
This is the game both Avondale Heights and Airport West have had circled in the calendar for at least two months now.
Glenroy’s win over Essendon Doutta Stars last week left these two sides fighting to avoid the drop to Division 1.
The Heights are currently in the box seat to survive, thanks to a Round 15 win over the Stars and a competitive showing against Pascoe Vale last week that didn’t hurt their percentage.
Airport West, on the other hand, have suffered three consecutive heavy losses in the lead-up to this weekend’s clash with the Heights.
The Eagles are a game and 7.32 per cent behind the Heights on the current ladder, so a win of roughly 73-plus points is the minimum target here.
Anything less could be dire for Geoff Maddern’s men.
They’ll take some belief into the game following what was an excellent 82-point win over the Heights on Match of the Day back in Round 8, but producing a replica performance here requires all hands on deck.
Both sides are guilty of this, but for Airport West in particular, too much is relied upon too few.
We know what we’ll get out of Damandeep Aujla, George Nabbout and Anthony Aloi, so it’s up to the support cast to rise to the occasion like it did in Round 8.
If they don’t, then Avondale Heights will be able to run over the top of the Eagles and ensure survival from relegation with a win here.
MARIBYRNONG PARK v GLENROY
Saturday 2:15pm at Maribyrnong Park
Both Maribyrnong Park and Glenroy are out of finals contention and safe from relegation, so nothing is really on the line here.
But it is a game that both clubs will want to win as they prepare for Season 2020.
At times this season, both teams have put together some very good football and with some shrewd recruiting over the summer, they should be looking to make some big inroads on the competition next season.
The Lions have had a very tough three-week stretch of games against finals calibre teams and while they suffered losses on each occasion, there would have been plenty of positives for coach Dean Laidley to take out of them.
The top end of Maribyrnong Park’s list is very good, particularly in key positions.
Jock Cornell, Brandon Ryan, Scott Clarke and James Breust form a very solid spine while George Abboud is a young midfield star in the making.
The Lions may only be a couple of new midfielders away from returning to finals contention in 2020, so for those players on the fringes, this game looms as a chance to impress Laidley heading into recruiting season.
For the most part, the same goes for the Roys, who have some good top end talent of their own but need to improve their depth over the summer.
In what was effectively another dead rubber against Essendon Doutta Stars last week, the Roys piled on a season’s best 19 goals to win an entertaining shoot-out by 16 points.
Tyson Lever made a triumphant return to the line-up with four goals in the absence of Lachie Ronaldson, leaving some wondering about what might have been had VFL side Coburg not kept him away from Sewell Reserve for most of the year.
We’ve also seen the likes of Judd Brewster and Josh Trembearth play some very good footy as well, so the Roys do have a good base to build from.
If conditions warrant, expect another good, solid hit-out against two sides who should be feeling good about what lays ahead.
KEILOR v ESSENDON DOUTTA STARS
Saturday 2:15pm at Keilor Reserve
The Blues keep answering every question thrown their way and seem to be getting better now that they’ve been able to establish a more settled line-up after injuries struck earlier in the season.
The Dean Galea-Matthew Clark forward combo is giving opposition defenders nightmares on a weekly basis and even if you can quell their influence, Keilor has the quality to get the better of you elsewhere.
Billy Iles is one Blue who is unheralded but last week at Greenvale, he was a star in his side’s comfortable 87-point win.
Others such as Todd Stevenson and David Isbister are playing some excellent, consistent footy as well, while skipper Kane Barbuto keeps firming as the favourite to claim Keilor’s first Reynolds Medal since Andrew Browne’s win in 2013.
They simply have too many players performing at their optimum for anyone to keep up with, which spells trouble here for a Douttas side that is seemingly limping toward the end of the season.
The Stars have lost five from six and have struggled to produce good, attacking footy for much of the year.
Last week’s 16-goal output against Glenroy would have been a pleasing result for coach Kyle Hardingham, but it was still only the third time Douttas have hit 100 points this season and it was also their first three-figure score against a side other than bottom-placed Airport West.
It did give us a glimpse of how potent the Stars could be next year if they can get a full year of service out of both Alex Boyse and Mitch Jensen.
With nothing meaningful on the line for either side here, the Stars will be hoping to give their fierce rival a good run for their money in the lead-up to the finals.
